Approaching the first tee at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am—technically No. 10 since we started on the back nine—a man in a suit walked up.
Holding a piece of paper, he introduced himself and asked how to pronounce my last name. Appreciating his due diligence, I explained that my last name, LoRé, rhymes with “hurray” and “Bublé.”
He informed me I would be second to tee off in our group, sandwiched between PGA Tour pro Adam Svensson and former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia.
“Are you sure CC shouldn’t go next?” I asked nervously. “He’s the celebrity.”
Sabathia, whose jovial nature and smile are as large as his 6-foot-6 frame, laughed and kindly instructed that we follow the predetermined order. After Svensson, the 2022 RSM Classic winner, effortlessly bombed his drive down the fairway from the furthest back tees, it was my turn to get my pro-am debut off to a flying start from the gold tees we amateurs were playing.
Easier said than done.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome Michael Lor-RAY.”
As I approached the tee box to a handful of clapping patrons and stuck my Bay Hill-themed tee into the perfectly manicured grass, I tried to remain calm but multiple thoughts raced through my mind: What if I duff it? What if I hit someone? What if I whiff?
I’m not the best golfer on the planet. Presented with the opportunity to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am at Florida’s renowned Bay Hill Club & Lodge thanks to title sponsor Mastercard, I was equally as excited for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as I was nervous that I’d end up going viral on social media for all the wrong reasons.
It also didn’t help that I’ve been grinding and tweaking my game at my local Five Iron and taking lessons to correct my bad self-taught swing habits.
Yet, with the most pressure put on a single swing in my entire golf career and negative scenarios playing out in my head, I paused and thought about the advice I received the night before from 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose.
“The first tee shot is probably the hardest so just breathe your way through it. If you can get the ball on the tee peg, get it airborne and move on, great, and if it doesn’t go well, just scurry along as quick as you can—it will get easier. Honestly, we don’t expect much from our amateurs, we really don’t.
“… I think you should start the day with a very philosophical attitude of ‘I’m here to enjoy this.’ The great thing is par is your friend so you can’t make worse than net par. It’s really your good golf that’s going to get rewarded, so your bad golf doesn’t hurt the team at all. Play for you, enjoy it and remember the good shots you hit and the rest of it, just easy breezy. Lean into the good, forget the bad.”
Sounds simple, right?
Refocused and calmer, I went through my pre-shot routine, took a deep breath and let it rip …
To say my first drive was a relief is an understatement. Even though it rolled into a fairway bunker, I hit it long and straight, which set the tone for the rest of my PGA Tour pro-am debut.
Draw Party
A pro-am draw party is where you and your playing partners hope to call dibs on the PGA Tour pro of your liking as your fourth teammate.
On Tuesday night in the hallowed halls of Bay Hill Club & Lodge, pro-am participants wearing their finest polos and sports coats strategized. Our plan was simple: with the threat of rain the following morning as well as our lack of golf ability, we wanted to find a player teeing off in the afternoon session who wouldn’t draw as much attention as stars like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth.
Content but not too confident if I’m being honest, the first number flashed on the board and the draft party commenced. Group numbers would appear in random order, signaling your team had all of 30 seconds to make your selection. If you failed to announce your pick in the allotted time, you would automatically get dropped to last and be assigned whichever player was left standing.
Equipped with a glorified spreadsheet of PGA Tour pros and their tee times, I frantically marked off names as they were called out with their corresponding groups. Having spoken to Rose the night before, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist teeing off at 1 p.m. was high on our list … until he was selected by Team 31. Cameron Young, Shane Lowry and Sahith Theegala were also selected as suddenly Team 48 flashed up on the big screen. It was our turn.
Thirty … 29 … 28 … 27 …
With about five seconds left before our time expired, we uttered “Adam Svensson” and our selection was complete.
Playing the Pro-Am
We arrived at Bay Hill around 11 a.m. Wednesday, plenty of time ahead of our 1:10 p.m. tee time.
After dropping off our bags, we were in search of some food to properly fuel an afternoon on the golf course. We assumed there wouldn’t be any nourishment throughout but we were pleasantly surprised with food and beverage stations on the course; Svensson’s caddie AJ Montecinos said such amenities were reserved for the pro-am.
But before we ate, we were instructed to visit the pro-am gifting lounge to pick up our mementos which included a monogrammed API headcover, an API backpack with a similarly themed divot tool, and other goodies from Peter Millar and Tiffany’s.
With lunch consumed (along with a much-needed beer to help quell the initial nerves), we hit the driving range with our newly assigned caddies. I was paired with Adam, who was nothing but friendly and reassuring from the moment he saw me take my first practice shot.
The range was buzzing with pros and amateurs preparing for their impending rounds. Scheffler, who would go onto win the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational four days later, was putting in work after his early-morning round. Sabathia was also nearby preparing for our round.
“Hey, CC, good to see you again,” I said, having previously interviewed the 2009 World Series champion a few times as well as previously playing in his PitCCh In Foundation charity golf event. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’re stuck with me today.”
At Rose’s behest, I can affectionately look back on my highlights and good shots rather than dwelling on the bad. Don’t get me wrong. I remember those, too, but I’ve given myself grace knowing that the course, which is hard enough as is, was purposefully groomed to be even harder to test some of the best professional golfers on the planet.
Even Min Woo Lee jokingly posted about the deep rough while watching the final round Sunday: “Not sure how it looks on TV but I think they should make the rough a little thicker at Bay Hill. It’s not challenging enough.”
Priceless Experience
While I couldn’t tell you what I shot or where our group finished, I can attest that playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am was arguably the best golf experience of life—the 1A to my 1B of parring No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass a few years ago.
Svensson and Montecinos were beyond gracious hosts to three amateurs who were in survival mode that afternoon. We did our best to keep up pace and stay out of their way, knowing it was their final tuneup before the tournament began the following morning.
I also can’t thank my caddie, Adam, enough. Not only was his knowledge of the course unmatched but his positivity and reassurance were breaths of fresh air as I typically give myself a hard time on the course, especially when I struggle.
After the final putt dropped on No. 9, like after any round, we took off our hats and shook hands on a successful afternoon, having avoided any inclement weather save for a few sprinkles on the final two holes.
Walking off the green, we were given our respective caddie bibs to keep as mementos and were gifted framed photos of Team 48—Adam Svensson, CC Sabathia, Michael LoRé and Raul Lopez—signed by Svensson.
That will serve as a constant reminder of our priceless experience together.
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